I can’t go to Bob Seger Friday night. It’s an incredibly long story (my family celebrates holidays a day late) that I don’t want to talk about. But in honor of the festive weekend, I’ll just go ahead and assume he’ll break out “Little Drummer Boy”…

I can’t believe this is the last time Cris Jacobs and the boys from The Bridge will be playing together. It’s almost impossible. The show is sold out. I might tear up a bit.

I don’t know if I’m an Airborne Toxic Event “fan”, but I know I’m a fan of this tune…

Kirk Franklin is a legendary gospel performer. In one of the most inexplicable moments in music history, he had a smash hit on MTV/Pop radio in 1997. You know you know the words…

I spent much of my adolescence wanting to be Fozzie Bear. If you don’t sing along to this you’re just a bad person…

Also, I’m looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with the Clark family, but I’ll admit I’m a bit confused by why it is that my mother has requested my girlfriend bring buffalo chicken dip to dinner this year. It’s just kinda weird. Whatever we consume, I know one thing. This Saturday I’ll be enjoying a “Thanksgiving Sandwich.” Wheat bread, turkey, potatoes and barbeque sauce. It sounds weird to you, but trust me on this one.

I start with Brett Dennen, whose tune “Comeback Kid (That’s My Dog)” I play regularly on “The Reality Check”-a fine radio program that airs Monday-Friday 2-6pm on AM1570 WNST.net. You should really be listening…

Then there’s Robert Randolph. Holy hell I have no idea how many times I could possibly post this video. It’s just…it’s just…it’s just amazing.

Bob Schneider’s “Honeypot” is one of the most underrated songs of 2011…

My buddy Chad Lamasa and I are headed to see the Fighters of Foo Friday night. He got the tickets, so I have to bring the Mentos. They kick a little ass…

I REALLY shouldn’t enjoy Chris Daughtry, but I totally do. I wish he was bringing Timbaland to Fairfax with him…

Fitz and the Tantrums are one of my absolute favorite bands of 2011. Before you watch a video of them playing with Daryl Hall, let’s debate whether it would be more fun to spell favorite “favourite”. I say yes.

If you’re not stoked for Rockapella, you and I disagree on the topic. I respect your feelings however.

I believe Pauly Shore was voted “Most likely Hollywood star to be playing at a joint called Magooby’s Joke House in the future” 15 years ago. I’d call his fall from stardom surprising if it was. It isn’t.

Meanwhile Leonardo DiCaprio was voted “Most likely Hollywood star to be releasing another awesome movie this week” about 10 minutes ago. He’s so freaking good. The J. Edgar Hoover movie looks incredible, but it would take a lot of work for someone to make a movie half as good as “Catch Me If You Can”…

I’m going to do my best to come by the Irish Festival Saturday. Mostly because I want to eat a meal that resembles this…

Which is what I guess the Towson Tigers figured they would do to move back into a first place in the CAA…

Terrance West ran all over the Black Bears, much like he’s done to everyone else in the conference. Towson has a completely legitimate chance to win the conference. I almost can’t believe I’m typing that.

The Atlanta Falcons traded away many things to get this man on their team. If he keeps playing like he did against the Indianapolis Colts it will go down as one of the greatest decisions in National Football League history…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yNx7EyDECQ

As far as Indy in concerned, things have gotten so bad that at one point QB Curtis Painter threw two forward passes on the same play. No really, this actually happened. He wears the same number as Bert Jones. That’s where the similarities end.

There were many amazing things about the Giants’ come from behind win over the New England Patriots in Foxborough, notably the plays made from Eli Manning to Jake Ballard to win the game. But NOTHING I could share with you would be as good as the footage of Michael Strahan celebrating the win while the cameras were “off” at FOX…

During the Sunday Night Football halftime show, Bob Costas pointed out that Ballard’s number (85) was the same number worn by David Tyree in Super Bowl XLII. Pretty good.

(Puts on “Superfriends” announcer voice)

“MEANWHILE….IN SAN DIEGO….”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPr0Z4q_vXk

Phillip Rivers nearly figured out a way to beat the NFC (and NFL)’s best team. The reason why he “nearly” figured it out is because part of beating the best team in the the league is NOT repeatedly throwing the ball to them.

I feel like Aaron Rodgers is getting dangerously close to “so good we can’t possibly like him” territory by the way.

Kellen Moore wasn’t necessarily brilliant, but he surpassed Colt McCoy as the all-time winningest quarterback in NCAA history in Boise State’s win at UNLV…

Kellen Moore’s season only remains interesting however if Luck begins to stumble. Their national TV (ABC) game Saturday night against Oregon will be Luck’s chance to follow up on his performance against USC with a “clincher”. Probably. He had some early struggles, but was good again Saturday against Oregon State…

Trent Richardson remains third on my list-but he’s currently third on a list of two. Case Keenum heads the “others receiving votes” category.

Tim Tebow by no means beat the Oakland Raiders on his own (Denver Broncos teammates Willis McGahee, Eddie Royal & Eric Decker certainly helped), but what the hell do we care about anyone who plays in the Mile High City not named Tim Tebow?

By the way, the Broncos are only a game out of first place in the AFC West. And thank God the Raiders solved all of their problems by trading for Carson Palmer.

I’ve had my ass kicked a bit over not being more familiar with the Jayhawks until recently. They’re quite good…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBGX_z6xuVU[/youtube]

The name Dick Dale might not mean a lot to you, but if you listen to “The Reality Check” on AM1570 WNST.net (and why wouldn’t you?), you’d be familiar with the theme to “Totally Tubular.” (Someone will yell at me for not also noting that Dick Dale is one of the greatest surf guitarists of all time. I’ve handled that now.)…

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — A close loss at the hands of a Top 10 opponent wouldn’t usually be so frustrating for a young team in their first season under a new head coach.

That’s not the case for the University of Maryland.

The Terrapins (2-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) suffered a 56-45 setback at the hands of the eighth ranked Clemson University Tigers (7-0, 4-0 ACC) in front of a Homecoming crowd of 47,961 at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium. The Terps lead throughout much of the game, holding a 35-17 advantage early in the second half.

Yet even when they held such an advantage, there was never a comfortable feeling amongst fans in attendance and watching at home.

After pulling reigning ACC Rookie of the Year the previous week in a loss at Georgia Tech, head coach Randy Edsall stuck with previous backup CJ Brown Saturday night, claiming the choice was a “gametime decision” between the two.

Brown provided plenty of offense, throwing for 177 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 162 yards and another TD. Brown was plagued however by accuracy issues for a second straight week, completing just 17 of 35 passes. He was on multiple occasions betrayed by his wide receivers, whose inability to catch the football has become a season-long theme. Brown was intercepted just once, although Tigers defenders suffered from the same inabilities that have been so familiar for Terps receivers.

Edsall offered little analysis of Brown’s effort (or much of anything else) after the game.

“I gotta really look at the film and take a look at everything, but quickly when you just look at the numbers-CJ did a lot of good things out there.”

Edsall also declined to discuss Brown’s future as the team’s starting quarterback, instead deferring to the depth chart that will be released Tuesday. It would seem likely though for Brown to remain under center when the team travels to Tallahassee to face Florida State next Saturday.

Brown was disappointed to have lost his first career start and took full responsibility for his accuracy issues postgame.

“I gotta make those throws” said the quarterback. “Me and Danny have been practicing all week and we’ve known these (receivers) since I’ve been here. I missed a couple throws.”

There is a possibility that even if Boomer Esiason had played quarterback for Maryland Saturday night the Terps would not have been able to do enough offensively to outscore Clemson.

The Tigers received a school-record 345 all-purpose yards from WR/KR Sammy Watkins, including three touchdowns. RB Andre Ellington tallied 212 yards on 24 carries including two more touchdowns. The Tigers scored six straight times they touched the ball in the second half, including an 89 yard kickoff return TD from thetrue freshman Watkins.

A full-strength team would have been hard-pressed to slow down the Tiger assault. A Maryland unit playing without LB’s Kenny Tate, Darin Drakeford and Demetrius Hartfield; DL’s Isaiah Ross and Andre Monroe and S Matt Robinson faced a nearly impossible task.

Given the evidence already stated, it feels like I should be more positive and upbeat about the Terps’ performance against such an outstanding opponent.

Of course, you already read the headline.

In terms of practicality, Maryland finished Saturday night’s affair with more injuries, as both LB Avery Graham and WR Kevin Dorsey were known to have left the game. Edsall offered no further information (or even confirmation that the injuries even existed) postgame, instead reminding reporters the school would release injury information as necessary later in the week based on ACC requirements.

Also on the practical side, Maryland’s hopes of bowl eligibility fade based on the loss. The Terps now must win four of their final six games to get eligible, with a schedule that does include four games they will be favored to win. After the trip to FSU, Maryland hosts Virginia and Boston College in back to back weeks before a neutral site date with Notre Dame (at FedEx Field in Landover) and visits to Wake Forest and North Carolina State to finish the season. After finishing 9-4 a season ago and returning an impressive quarterback, missing out on bowl eligibility would be disappointing for Maryland even with a new head coach.

Veering away from the world of practicality, the quarterback situation could be the subject of a sequel to Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.” After an outstanding freshman campaign, Danny O’Brien is now relegated to backup duties behind a quarterback his same age. While O’Brien was (understandably) not made available to reporters after the game, it would be fair to assume he wouldn’t be thrilled to have been demoted.

His future in the program (or elsewhere) will always be tied to whatever level of success Brown has in new Offensive Coordinator Gary Crowton’s system. Edsall and Crowton will be scrutinized by fans and media alike moving forward based on what the two quarterbacks do moving forward.

This is a football program facing a number of issues.

Edsall has preached patience in his first season, which is seemingly fair for a first year coach to request. It is absolutely fair however to question where the program has gone in the last ten months since firing longtime head coach Ralph Friedgen after a successful season and hiring Edsall.

Ten months ago, it did not appear that Maryland has a program in need of being torn down and rebuilt.

We can only hope that after being torn down anyway, the program will end up a finished product worthy of the process.

-G

NOTES: Maryland’s game at Florida State will kick off at 3:30pm (ABC)……Hear from Edsall, Brown and RB Davin Meggett in the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault here at WNST.net

Beer? I LOVE Beer! Why, just the other day I was sipping a cold Moosehead…

But seriously, I could sit here all day talking about beer. In fact I might. OR…with this being the last hurrah for RennFest, perhaps I should instead allow Hack & Slash to tell you about how much they love beer…